Some of the statements in the document used to drum up interest in Firepower have been questioned in a report in The Sydney Morning Herald (29/9/2007, p. 44).

Oil companies deny claims: The 92-page document drawn up for po­tential investors – dated 21 November, 2006, but containing updates from March this year – stated Firepower had contracts in Australia with Caltex, Ampol and BP that are worth 7 per cent of its non-European sales. But a spokesperson for Caltex and Ampol (the same company) said there were no such con­tracts. The same response was issued by BP.

GM Holden and ANZAC military also refute claims: Other apparent contradictions have also been questioned. General Motors Holden requested that Firepower retract a claim that the two companies were working together in a tech­nical capacity. The Australian military has no record of having purchased any Firepower products, as the company claimed. Neither does the New Zealand Defence Force.

Real and imagined directors and executives: One of the directors of Firepower is the property developer Warren Anderson. Until recently its chief executive was John Finnin, a former senior Austrade official. The European head is Gunter Nolte, who once worked for Halliburton, the multinational oil company associated with the US Vice-President, Dick Cheney. During private meetings, Johnston named others he would invite onto the Firepower board once it listed. They included the US presidential hopeful John McCain, the for­mer secretary of state, Colin Powell, and the retired US Army general, Norman Schwarzkopf. Even the entrepreneur Richard Branson got a mention.